8/19/2018
Tri-City Motor Speedway
8/17/2018 Race Results
08/17/2018 Be Cool Radiators Championship Night
Feature Winners:
- Melling Performance Late Model: #71 Timmy Near
- Suspension MAXX Street Stocks: #50 Jake Thompson
- Main Street Seed and Supply IMCA Modified: #79 Nate Jones
- Walker’s Ideal Trophies Mini-Wedge (6-9yr old): #28 Kyron DeShano
- Walker’s Ideal Trophies Mini-Wedge (10-14yr old): #2e Easton Murray
- Mueller Performance Engines Pro Stocks: #77 Chris Malek
- Thornton Brothers Sewer and Septic Service FWD Bomber Stocks: #03 Josh Charbonneau
2018 Season Champions:
- Melling Performance Late Model: #4t Andrew Terrill
- Suspension MAXX Street Stocks: #x5 Eric Lake
- Main Street Seed and Supply IMCA Modified: #79 Nate Jones
- Walker’s Ideal Trophies Mini-Wedge (6-9yr old): #54 Addison Clink
- Walker’s Ideal Trophies Mini-Wedge (10-14yr old): #15 Cole Doty
- Mueller Performance Engines Pro Stocks: #K11 Kendall Morrison
- Thornton Brothers Sewer and Septic Service FWD Bomber Stocks: #7 John Staszak
2018 Season Point Champions Crowned at Tri-City Motor Speedway
08/17/2018 (Auburn, MI) Weather once again tried to threaten the Friday racing schedule at Tri-City Motor Speedway. However, the facility never received a drop of rain throughout the afternoon. With the final point night of the season about to take place, 111 of the state’s best stock car competitors made the tow to the Auburn facility in hopes that they could win a coveted first place trophy. A large crowd saw near perfect track conditions and some phenomenal racing action.
The Mueller’s Performance Engines Pro Stocks started the night with defending Champion #28 Jared Rizer nursing a slim one point advantage over #K11 Kendall Morrison. Morrison would show his strength early by winning the four car dash. #99 Rick Beauchamp and #69 Nate Murphy won their respective heat races. Inside pole-sitter #65 Matt Schaaf led the first six laps of the 20-lap main event as he worked hard to keep back the challenges from #J3 Tim Murphy and #99 Rick Beauchamp. Beauchamp persistence paid off on lap seven as he cleared Schaaf for the lead. Meanwhile, Morrison was keeping ahead of Rizer as both stayed within the top ten. Beauchamp looked to be on his way to his first win of the season, but a late race caution would bunch the field. On the restart, Beauchamp got a great jump on the field and was likely going to win the race. Contact in a three wide battle for the runner-up position between N. Murphy, #27 Rob Westergard, and Tim Murphy brought out the caution on the final lap. With a one lap shoot-out Beauchamp had a difficult task of one final restart. This time, he would not outsmart the drivers behind him as #77 Chris Malek took the lead on the high side of turn two to hold off both Tim Murphy and Beauchamp at the checkered flag. Rizer was able to capitalize on the final restart to finish fourth ahead of Morrison. The finishes for the two left them tied atop the point standings. The driver with the most wins would break the tie as Morrison’s three feature wins topped Rizer’s one which earned Morrison his first TCMS championship.
The Walker’s Ideal Trophies Mini Wedge Senior Division for 10-14 year olds had #15 Cole Doty wrap up his first championship during the previous week’s events. The ten lap feature was just another opportunity for Doty to win another feature and add to his career accomplishments. He started on the front row with #2e Easton Murray, who had won her first ever race in the preliminary heat event. Murray took control of the inside lane and held off Doty and #24c Cadence Anderson for all ten laps to sweep the evening and take home her first ever feature win.
The Walker’s Ideal Trophies Junior division point chase came down to three drivers with the opportunity to be the 2018 Champion. #28 Kyron DeShano and #5 Brennan DeShano were both within four points of leader #54 Addison Clink. None of the three contenders won the earlier two heart races. Those were captured by #27k Kylie Watz and #27 Pierson DeShano. #3 Jett Gohr had an early handle on the field for eight of the ten laps before K. Deshano took over the lead and grabbed the eventual win. Gohr would end up finishing seconds with Clink, B. Deshano, and #80 Preston Mieske completing the top five. The third place finish for Clink was enough to claim the 2018 track championship by one point over K. DeShano and five over B. DeShano.
The night did have a DeShano that earned the title of TCMS Track Champion. It was in the Thornton Brothers Sewer and Septic Service FWD Bomber Stocks as #7 John Staszak just needed to start a race on Friday night in order to claim the title. #0 Aaron Wentworth Jr, who had a heat race win, took advantage of his front row starting spot to lead the first six circuits in the fifteen lap finale. #03 Josh Charbonneau used patience to eventually motor around Wentworth on lap seven. Staszak would have a scare as contact between him and Wentworth sent Staszak off the backstretch and into the water barrels protecting the guardrail. Staszak’s damage was minimal and he was able to rejoin the field. Charbonneau went untouched winning his third Bomber Stock feature of the year. #21 Daryl McBride crossed the finish line as the runner-up with #18 Pierce Ritter, Staszak, and #5x Austin Vennix close behind. For Staszak, this is his second track championship as he had been the Mini Wedge Champion two years prior. McBride won four-car dash and the second heat race.
The Main Street Seed and Supply IMCA Modified division championship came down to the final night of racing. It was a dual between consistent competitor #27 Matt Szecsodi and #79 Nate Jones with a scant point separating the two drivers. With the other IMCA sanctioned Friday night Michigan speedway not running the class on their schedule, a number of their drivers including #20w AJ Ward, were in attendance to collect state, regional, and national IMCA points. In addition, Ward was looking to collect his 100th career IMCA feature win. Ward took an impressive win in his heat race along with #03c Chris Cohoon and #71 Brenten DeYoung. Sheridan MI driver #615 Chad Wernette won the dash. He had an outside shot at the championship, but he would need a lot of help and bad luck from the top two drivers of Jones and Szecsodi. The pair of title contenders started mid-pack at the drop of the green flag for the main event. #0 Will Small took control early before Jones, using the bottom groove took the top spot on lap five. He continued to run the bottom groove while a hard charging Ward found speed in the top line. Ward tracked down Jones and was poised to steal the lead before the caution flag flew. On the restart, Jones decided to run the high side. The move allowed Jones to pull away from Ward and to his seventh feature win of the 2018 season. The win, along with Szecsodi’s finish of fourth gave Jones the season title. Ward took second with Cohoon clawing his way to third. DeYoung finished fifth after starting 20th. Jones’ Championship is his second at TCMS and sixth Championship of his young career. The B-main gold was won by 2017 Champion #19jr Kody Johnson.
Three heat races were needed to set the starting lineup for the 30-lap feature in the Melling Performance Late Model class. Those heat races were won by #78 Drew Wilkerson, #76 Torrey Ahrens, and #11x Ryan Lanphierd. The championship battle was down to defending two-time Champion #4t Andrew Terrill and #19 Derrick Hilliker. Terrill needed to keep out of trouble and keep Hilliker within his sights for him to seal the deal on his third championship in a row. Hilliker started the main event in 9th with Terrill a bit deeper in the field in 12th. Front row starters #04 Wade Witherspoon and #4x Chad Anklam would dominate the first fifteen laps before rookie #71 Tim Near maneuvered around the pair for his turn at the lead. With the track wide and full of grip, Terrill and Hilliker ended up battling each other as they rapidly ascended into the top five. Without the aid of a late race caution, Near impressively pulled away to win his first ever Late Model Feature. Near was followed by Lanphierd, Hilliker, Wilkerson, and Terrill. Hilliker and his strong effort fell short in his bid to be a champion finishing the season six points back of Terrill. This is Terrill’s third LM championship in as many years.
The SuspensionMAXX Street Stock Championship was wrapped up last week as defending Champion #x5 Eric Lake took the top honor once again. With no pressure to have to point race the final feature, Lake was able to concentrate on going for feature win. Second row starter #84 Eric Watz led the field of twenty-three for the first dozen laps. But it was 12th place starter #50 Jake Thompson who out muscled the strong field to lead the final seven laps to victory. Former TCMS Champion #M65 was second ahead of Watz, #72 Bobby Kosha, and #96 Cade Schafer. #15.2 Robert Cunningham was the dash victor. While Thompson, Watz, and Spencer won their heat races.
Now that the point season is complete, it is time to have a little fun for the final events of the 2018 season. Next week will be the first TCMS Ring of Fire eliminator race. Group qualifying and Australian Pursuits will help shape the fields of Late Models, Street Stocks, Pro Stocks, and FWD Bomber Stocks for the eliminator feature races. Winners will receive a custom made fire ring and one lucky fan will walk away with one, too!! We’ll light up the night sky with fireworks as each feature hits the track. You will love the excitement of this extravaganza! In two weeks, join us as the Great Lakes Super Sprint cars and Outlaw Late Models vie for the track record. Time is running out to enjoy at least one more night at Michigan’s ultimate dirt track racing destination: Tri-City Motor Speedway.
Article Credit: Roger Williams
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